‘A record-breaking collective claim against MasterCard was thrown out by the Competition Appeal Tribunal today in a major blow to the growth of funded class actions in the UK. The case, brought by former financial services ombudsman Walter Merricks on behalf of 46 million consumers who were alleged to be victims of excess ‘interchange fees’ charged by card companies, claimed £14bn in damages. It was the largest sum claimed in English legal history.’

‘ChurchCare has published a CBC Guidance Note on Ruined Churches, (“the Note”). Whilst much of the 14-page document is concerned with explaining the options available to dioceses and parishes for the management of these buildings, it also includes a brief summary of the law relevant to this little-explored area.’

‘The government has been accused of undermining the rule of law by putting pressure on an independent regulator in its action against a legal firm pursuing claims of human rights abuses involving British troops in Iraq.’

‘Westminster City Council can recover “reasonable” licensing fees and enforcement costs charged to various sex shops in Soho, London, even though these fees were later found to be in breach of an EU directive, the UK’s highest court has ruled.’

‘At the present time, a large range of civil proceedings, especially in the commercial area, are governed by an EU measure, the Brussels I Regulation (Recast) of 2012. This applies whenever the defendant is domiciled in another EU country, whenever there is a choice-of-court agreement designating a court in the EU, and whenever an EU Member State has exclusive jurisdiction over a particular matter, for example title to land or registered intellectual-property rights. The Regulation also applies to the recognition and enforcement of judgments between different EU States.’

‘It is rare, if we are entirely honest, for a First Tier Tribunal decision on service charges to be exciting. It is even rarer for there to be mystery and police raids, and “Immunity from Treason” notices, and debts of “Trillions of pounds”, and something called an ‘equity lawyer’. Yet here they all are, and more, in what on the face of it was a dispute over annual service charges of about £1200.’

‘Blood donation restrictions for gay men and sex workers are to be relaxed in England and Scotland under a series of equalities reforms announced by the government. Gay men will be allowed to donate blood three months after sexual intercourse instead of a year. Sex workers, who were previously banned from donating, will be subject to the same three-month rule.’

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